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Motivation is a daily struggle for entrepreneurs, so I’ve put together these motivation-boosting tips from eight of today’s most successful international entrepreneurs.

1. Fear of failure

In an article that he wrote for Bloomberg, Mark Cuban stated that he uses the fear of failure for self-motivation.

“No matter what business you’re in, you’re always at risk — particularly in technology, where it changes so rapidly you’ve got to put in the effort to keep up,” writes the US Shark Tank panel member. “There’s always the opportunity for some 18-year-old to come out of nowhere and crush you — that motivates the hell out of me.”

Failed at something? Ask these Mark Cuban questions. “What did I do wrong? Who did I trust that I shouldn’t trust? What can I learn from this situation so I can avoid it next time?”

2. Follow your passion

This is the key. However, as Chalmers Brown, co-founder and CTO of Due writes, “We want to not only make a lot of money but enjoy what we do as well. We are willing to take on the risk of unstable pay in exchange for following our dreams.

“Unfortunately, your dream job may not always be the best decision financially. Sometimes your hobbies are best kept as projects in your spare time for fun. If you do want to try to turn your passion into a full-time job, these tips can help you get started the right way.”

Brown gives the tips below:

Improve something that you’re already doing

Figure out where the market is

Share your passion with others

Stay happy and motivated by assigning tasks that you’re not a fan of to someone else.

3. Keep affirmations where you can see them

“It’s so easy as an entrepreneur to get sucked into feeling exhausted or frustrated, and often the blame is yours alone,” writes Murray Newlands, founder of online invoicing company Sighted. “But a negative mindset sucks up mental bandwidth and energy that you need to stay focused and successful.

“It is crucial to maintain an optimistic attitude in the face of setbacks. Whenever you see a quote or a picture that helps you stay positive, place it front and centre so you can remember what this journey is all about.”

4. Surround yourself with highly successful and motivated people

“No one does it alone,” said Mark Zuckerberg during a Q&A in 2016. “When you look at most big things that get done in the world, they’re not done by one person, so you’re going to need to build a team.” When building your all-star team, seek out people who excel in the areas where you’re not strong or have less experience.

“You’re going to need people that have complementary skills,” he emphasised. “No matter how talented you are, there are just going to be things that you don’t bring to the table.”

5. Be grateful

“Most of the time when people ask me about motivation, 80% of the time I attribute it to gratitude. If you want real fuel to win, be grateful,” writes Gary Vaynerchuk.

“Gratitude is what has gotten me through my toughest moments in business. Whenever I have lost a deal to a competitor, or an incredible employee, or millions of dollars in revenue, I default to gratitude. It’s impossible not to stay motivated or get too down when you’re feeling grateful.”

6. Never feel sorry yourself

“All of my best successes came on the heels of a failure, so I’ve learnt to look at each belly flop as the beginning of something good,” says Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran Group and Shark on US Shark Tank.

“If you just hang in there, you’ll find that something is right around the corner. It’s that belief that keeps me motivated. I’ve learnt not to feel sorry for myself, ever. Just five minutes of feeling sorry for yourself takes your power away and makes you unable to see the next opportunity.”

7. Don’t obsess over your vision

Yes. Think about your vision. But don’t spend too much time over it or it will bog you down. Elon Musk, for example, only spends around 30 minutes a week on his vision of SpaceX colonising Mars. Besides those 30 minutes, Musk spends a majority of his time focused on the milestones that are the most immediate and critical to get him there.

8. Leverage the power of rejection

“On June 26, 2008, our friend Michael Seibel introduced us to seven prominent investors in Silicon Valley. We were attempting to raise $150 000 at a $1,5 million valuation. That means for $150 000 you could have bought 10% of Airbnb.

“Below you will see five rejections. The other two did not reply,” writes Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky on Medium. “The investors that rejected us were smart people, and I’m sure we didn’t look very impressive at the time.” Today Airbnb is valued at just under $30 billion.

Are you dreaming about becoming an entrepreneur, but not sure whether you’re ready to take the plunge? Some of the world’s top entrepreneurs weigh in on what it takes to be a success.

1. Think out the box

A general rule of thumb is that you should do what you know. Spend time in an industry before launching your business, build up a network and understand your target market and their needs. This is all sound advice, and has been the foundation of many successful start-ups.

However, there is an inherent danger that entrepreneurs should avoid at all costs: Many industries are bound by legacy ideas and systems that are the enemy of disruption and innovation. Entrepreneurs who didn’t know something couldn’t be done are often the ones who find a way to make it happen.

Approach an industry or idea with fresh eyes. Take lessons from other industries. Don’t be limited by your lack of knowledge — go out and learn, even if you’re learning on the fly.

Airbnb, Uberand Netflix are three of the most disruptive businesses in the world today, and they’ve achieved phenomenal success because they didn’t buy into the simple and engrained idea that an accommodation business should own property, a taxi service should own vehicles, or a movie rentals business needed to own DVDs.

If you really want to differentiate, you need to lead, not follow.

“Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.” — Sara Blakely, Spanx founder and self-made billionaire

2. Be an open-source person

Have you been delaying launching your own business because you’re not sure if you’re ready? Some of the most successful entrepreneurs have taken the plunge and learnt along the way. Gil Oved and Ran Neu-Ner, founders of The Creative Counsel — South Africa’s biggest advertising agency with an annual turnover of R750 million — followed this simple rule in their start-up days: They always bit off more than they could chew, and then chewed like hell.

Their philosophy was that ‘no’ was never the end of a negotiation, but the beginning of one. This tenacity kept them going, even though they spent their first year barely making ends meet.

Gil and Ran are not alone in their thinking. Robin Olivier, founder of Digicape, a R240 million Apple products and services business, prepared himself for entrepreneurship by putting his hand up for anything and everything that came his way. “I’ve always been like that. I jump in with two feet and figure things out along the way.” For Robin, that’s the only way you learn.

Joshin Raghubar, founder of iKineo and the chairman of Bandwidth Barn and the Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative, began his career working for Ravi Naidoo at African Interactive. At 23, he found himself project managing the African Connection Rally, a massive partnership with the Department of Transport. Why? Because he was always ready to step in, learn something new, offer his opinion and take on any challenge.

Joshin believes that successful entrepreneurs are open-source people who are willing and able to consistently and continuously learn new things. If you’re moving forward every day, you’re already on the path to success.

3. Be significant

Start-ups are tough. They are lonely, and they take a lot from you physically, mentally and emotionally. Passion and significance are two key components that will keep you going through your darkest hours. If you can answer why you are doing something, you’ll be able to forge on, even when the challenges ahead seem almost insurmountable.

“If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it,” says Elon Musk, who isn’t letting go of his dream to colonise Mars during his lifetime, despite many challenging tasks ahead of him. The lesson is simple: Whatever you endeavour to accomplish, out of this world or not, do not allow yourself to be deterred by the odds. Bravely forge ahead.

Steve Jobs shared a similar outlook. Before entering into business with Steve Wozniak, he dropped out of college and took time off figuring out what he wanted to do with his life.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work,” he said. “And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”

If you know you want to be an entrepreneur, but you aren’t sure what you should be doing or haven’t found the right business idea, think about the things that truly matter to you. What problem would you ultimately like to solve? Sometimes you need to build up to it, and start with one thing that will lead you to the next (consider how Musk built the Tesla to fund other parts of his business), but once you’re on the path to significance, nothing will hold you back.

“The key to realising a dream is to focus not on success but on significance — and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.” — Oprah Winfrey, self-made billionaire media mogul

4. Look for opportunities in every challenge

Some people see challenges, others see opportunities. The latter are known as entrepreneurs. Some of the most successful businesses have been launched in the midst of recessions. How? Because entrepreneurs aren’t daunted by a challenge. In fact, challenges are great, because they keep the competitive pool smaller.

Vinny Lingham, Shark Tank South Africa investor and serial entrepreneur, says that he would rather have been homeless than not start a company because he didn’t have any finances. He sold his house, rented back a room in his (now former) home, and launched Clicks2Customers, a business that hit the R100 million turnover mark three years later. He didn’t see the challenge; he focused on the opportunity.

You’ll have to keep a close eye on cash flow and find some really smart solutions to real-life problems, but that’s the foundation of a great start-up. It’s all about the lens you see the world through. Are you open to opportunities, or limited by challenges?

“Dear optimist, pessimist, and realist — while you guys were busy arguing about the glass of wine, I drank it! Sincerely, the opportunist!”— Lori Greiner, Shark Tank US investor

5. Failure is a critical element of success

Don’t let failure hold you back, or worse yet, keep you from trying. You already know that failure is a part of the business of entrepreneurship, but it’s easier said than done when you’re picking yourself back up after a bad break. Remember that with a shift in your perspective you can transform the stumbles and falls into opportunities to improve yourself and your business offerings. What didn’t work? What did? Keep at it — you only have to get it right once.

Oprah agrees. “At some point, you are bound to stumble, because if you’re constantly doing what we do, raising the bar; if you’re constantly pushing yourself higher, higher, the law of averages — not to mention the Myth of Icarus — predicts that you will at some point fall. And when you do I want you to know this, remember this: There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.”

And what about Richard Branson? The billionaire mogul has launched more than 200 successful ventures, but he’s also had some dismal failures, including Virgin Cola and Virgin Brides. If he didn’t ‘screw it, just do it’ in the face of failure, where might he be today?

Instead, he believes in getting back up and pushing on. “The main thing is, if you have an idea for business, as I say, screw it, just do it. Give it a go. You may fall flat on your face, but you pick yourself up and keep trying until you succeed,” he says.

There’s no such thing as a successful entrepreneur who didn’t fail while they found their success. But, there are many, many entrepreneurs who haven’t found success because they’ve been too afraid to fail. Which will you be?

“Don’t worry about failure. You only have to be right once.” — Drew Houston, CEO of Dropbox

The role of the CFO is rapidly changing. A chief financial officer can no longer simply rely on crunching numbers while focusing solely on a company’s balance sheet.

To succeed from here on, CFOs will need to shift their focus towards analytics, people management, disruptive technology, and several other crucial and newly forming variables.

Business Insider sat down with Ash Noah, vice president of CGMA External Relations at the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). Noah is the former CFO of the international unit of TNT Express, a global transport and logistics provider. In his role, he led finance teams in 45 countries through a significant transformation. Today his team travels all over the world, talking to CFOs and other financial experts about company needs, transformative changes in their industry, and much more.

Noah painted a picture of what the CFO of the future will look like, and it’s a stark contrast from today’s financial leaders.

1. CFOs must become analytics wizards.

The current role of the CFO is very transactional. However, that is starting to change. Noah says CFOs are quickly becoming more analytical at their core.

“We should only be spending about 10% of our efforts and time on transactional and 90% of our time on analytics,” he says. “Only about 3% of organizations are at the desired state. Most organizations are in the 50/50 range, and most companies are trying to move up that chain. The more time you spend on analytics the more you help the business and enable effective business partnering. The CFO of the future will be a true business partner who will provide these insights.”

Noah says there is already a “pull from businesses” as they seek out more analytics data and that CFOs are cognizant of that pull.

2. CFOs must manage an increasing amount of risk.

The level of risk and the rate at which risk is increasing is unprecedented. This calls for highly skilled risk management processes, says Noah.

The “clear and present danger” is that a business model is going to be “disrupted by technology,” he says. CFOs are now constantly asking, “Who is going to put me out of business tomorrow?”

The CFO of the future needs to be beside the CEO, helping to navigate these risks. “Making your business resilient and strengthening your business model is what the CFO of the future will have to do,” Noah says.

To underscore his message, he points to the S&P 500. In the 1950s, most companies featured on the list would remain there for 60 years. Clayton Christensen of Harvard University says today’s average S&P 500 company will drop off the list in 18 years. Based on those numbers, 75% of the current S&P 500 will not be featured in 2027.

3. CFOs must adapt to new technology.

Noah says you must look at your business model and figure out how it can constantly be adapted and how you can finance that evolution. “How you use new metrics to enable innovation is an absolutely essential question for a CFO.”

CFOs can no longer rely on old tools and the traditional return on capital, return on investment, payback period, and all the measures that CFOs are so familiar with.

“The old way of thinking stifles innovation and ruins new business creation,” Noah says. “The CFO of the future must enable innovation and manage risk better.”

4. CFOs must become better at managing people.

Noah says you have to use your technical skills in the context of the business to influence people and to lead change.

“Leadership, people, and business skills are absolutely crucial to the future of the CFO function,” Noah explains. “The more you move up, the more you want to make sure you have the right people and leadership skills. Typically finance functions have not paid attention to that in the past.”

5. The CFO of the future must guide decisions in a politically charged atmosphere.

The role of a CFO is to represent the organization and fight for the business models of the new world. Noah cites the example of Uber, which has been attacked by government agencies over its contractor-versus-employee structure and its general services.

“A CFO of the future needs to be at the forefront of providing the business with financial and business implications,” he says. “I would stop short of saying a CFO should lobby, but they need to be able to partner with their business in areas such as union regulations and minimum wages laws.”

He adds that CFOs need to be able to “measure political impact and show the effects it has in terms of dollars and risk. They also need to enable their partners to lobby and send the right type of messages.”

6. CFOs must manage big data as a large part of business operations.

Data and analytics are becoming increasingly crucial to businesses, not just in terms of finding new markets and new segments in order to achieve revenue generation, but also for understanding, variabilizing, and controlling costs.

According to Noah, “We did a report on big data a few years ago, and 93% of people surveyed said the way decisions are made in the future will change because of data. We are not expecting CFOs to be data scientists — they don’t have to understand the algorithms — but the CFO of the future will need to be the connector between the business and data scientists.”

Noah also points out that CFOs in the future will need to be better adept at finding a business’ needs and solving problems as they arise. “They are the ones that will translate that to the data scientists,” he says. “They are the ones that will help them build the right queries and get the answer the business needs and then be able to take those insights back to the business in order to make them actionable.”

7. CFOs will make effective decisions with analytics from outside of the enterprise.

“CFOs need to develop the right question when creating datasets,” Noah says.

He notes that a lot of companies are using big data to drive decisions outside of the enterprise: “Fundamentally it is unstructured; it is outside the boundaries of the enterprise. Right now a lot of the non-financial data is not trusted by owners of that data. However, 74% of companies are saying their gathered information is accurate.”

Non-financial data may include machine-versus-human labor and productivity, and how many products were consumed or sold in the marketplace. “To really get insights into a business you have to look at the underlying non-financial drivers to the financial information,” he says.

8. CFOs need to understand business drivers and the underlying non-financial information that drives the financials of their company.

While analytics outside of the enterprises will become increasingly important, CFOs must also be able to look at the value their company is creating based on variables such as intellectual property and intangible assets. Those non-financial business drivers are becoming increasingly important.

Noah explains that “when we look at trends, the valuation of a company was traditionally based on 80% of the value created in the balance sheet by tangible items and about 20% of the value was intangible. There was a gap between the market cap of the company and the balance sheet valuation.” A study in 2010 found that if you look at S&P 500 valuations today, the gap between the balance sheet and the market valuation has become 80%. That means 80% of the valuation is no longer in the balance sheet.

“If the CFO is focused on the balance sheet and is focused on compliance, focused on processes and procedures and conformance, he’s not engaging in value creation,” Noah says. “The more significant value is now created from your intangible assets. The CFO of the future really needs to understand and become more of a P&L CFO to engage in value creation.”

He adds, “Value creation today is a knowledge-based economy. Companies are now more likely to create value using intangible assets and intellectual property. “

9. Hiring decisions will become a major part of the job for future CFOs.

CFOs will need to drive talent acquisition and retention.

“A CFO will need to have a structured approach to create the competencies a company needs, and they will need to fill in the gaps,” Noah says. “A CFO must adopt a structured-competencies framework and recruit and train new workers based on that framework.”

He also believes the CFO will need to find creative ways to retain workers based on the company’s desired competencies.

As an entrepreneur or business owner you know the truth of the old saying that sometimes you have to spend money to make money. But, you also have to save money to have money! And saving more money consistently ranks as a top financial resolution people make each New Year.

We all need to do it — whether to build a robust emergency fund, secure our retirement, or create the equity we need to build a business and lifelong wealth. But, how many people actually succeed?

According to some reports, up to 80 percent of people who make New Year’s resolutions fail to keep them. Yet we know that people who make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t.

For many people, the start of a new year is the trigger they need to change their behavior patterns to set themselves on a lifelong journey toward financial security and self-sufficiency.

What does it take to be one of the successful few? What can you do this time around to increase your likelihood of remaining on track when next New Year’s Day rolls around?

1. Understand that real, permanent change comes from within, rather than from outside pressure.

In their groundbreaking book, Changing for Good, three psychologists looked at 130 different techniques that people used to try to give up smoking. They discovered it is not a lack of potent and effective quitting techniques that defeats so many smokers. Rather, it is the internal thought processes that prevent (or enable) permanent, life-enhancing change.

Their discovery captured the attention of leading academics, clinical psychologists, life coaches and authors looking into why certain people are able to set a life-changing goal, meet it and keep themselves from relapsing.

The good news: Researchers have discovered that we all have it within us to modify our behavior and cross the “Resolution Finish Line,” regardless of how ingrained our habits are. When you consider how mindset affects everything in our lives, it’s no surprise that it’s the key to achieving our financial goals.

2. Enlist allies to help you stay on track.

Many people require outside support when they decide to get serious about holding themselves accountable for their financial resolutions.

M. Kathryn Seifert, Ph.D., a Maryland psychologist who operates three mental health clinics, says a coach — whether a professional for hire, a friend or a religious leader — can help people reinforce their commitments.

Dr. Seifert’s clinics see about 2,000 distressed individuals a year, many of them struggling with financial crises. For most people, the right motivation coupled with persistence and the aid of a coach provides what they need to achieve their goals, she says.

3. Set incentives and consequences for sticking to or breaking your commitments.

Consider using websites such as www.stickk.com that allow you to give yourself incentives for sticking to your commitments, and set up penalties for breaking them.

This carrot and stick approach relies on three factors: a goal, stakes, and a referee, according to an article a few years go on commitment contracts.

When you make a commitment binding in this way, it will make you think twice before backsliding. Even better, the rewards that come with sticking to your commitments establish a feel-good pattern of positive reinforcement. And that will make staying on track easier as you move forward.

4. Skip the pity party when you fall short.

Don’t wallow in self-blame when you fail. Instead, pick yourself back up, learn from your mistakes, and go right back to work toward your goal.

Steve Siebold, author of How Rich People Think, says one of the key differences between those who are defeated by financial roadblocks and those who knock down barriers along their path, is how they respond to disappointment.

Siebold estimates that 40 percent to 60 percent of today’s most successful investors, entrepreneurs and executives have failed multiple times. Those who rebound the fastest and most successfully set aside emotional thinking and put their minds to the task of plotting a logical pathway forward.

5. Don’t set yourself up for failure by insisting on an all-or-nothing change.

Judith A. Belmont, a psychotherapist and author of the “The Swiss Cheese Theory of Life,” has described New Year’s resolutions as “a setup for failure” because they embrace an all-or-nothing attitude toward change.

Belmont cautions against perfectionism and advises patience and persistence instead.

“It doesn’t matter where you are on the journey, what matters is the direction you are going,” she says. “Learn from the past, accept shortcomings, realize where you made errors and build on them like stepping stones.”

One final piece of advice: Give yourself reminders to keep your focus on where you are going and your long-term goals. One of my favorite ways to do this, especially when it comes to holiday shopping, is to wrap my charge cards in my goals. Every time I take a card out, I see a picture or some words that remind me of why I am saving. This is a trick to make yourself pause a moment and consider whether what you are purchasing is more important than your goal.

Remember, when it comes to keeping your financial resolutions, you are the key. You make decisions every day, every week and every month throughout the year that all add up when it comes to building savings and wealth. Only when you set your mind and heart to the task can you successfully create long-term change in your fiscal direction.

With the fourth quarter of the year upon us, it can be a smart time to take inventory of your financial situation. Here are 10 easy steps to complete an effective assessment.

1. Assess your 2017 plan progress. Look at any areas of your 2017 written financial plan that you have not yet accomplished and endeavor to complete them in the remaining months, or include them in your 2018 plan.

2. Review your current cash flow.Take a deeper look at what you are spending your money on each month and determine what opportunities there are to find “painless savings”. Maybe you will find some easy ways to save a few extra rands for your long-term goals.

3. Calculate your asset allocation. The run-up in stocks may have increased your stock allocation and you may hold more risk than you are comfortable with. If so, look at making some reallocations – and don’t forget to consider the tax implications of any move inside a taxable account.

4. Estimate if you are on track to maximize your tax contributions. Try not to miss any valuable tax deductions, and also be sure to defer in each pay period to maximize any employer matching contribution.

5. Talk with your tax and financial advisors. Explore other ways to save on your tax bill. There may still be time to take action, but time is running out!

6. Harvest tax losses. At this point in the bull market you should have more winners than losers, but not all stocks and mutual funds are up. If you hold some losing positions, consider selling them to offset other gains.

7. Plan for any mutual fund distributions.Call your advisor or the fund company to estimate the amount of any distributions and gains. Then either offset those gains with any losses you may have realized, or begin to set aside money for the related tax bill.

8. Check your Flexible Savings Account (FSA).Determine if you have an unspent balance inside your FSA plan. Many plans have a “use it or lose it” feature. Maybe you’ve been putting off a doctor visit or need a new pair of orthotics or a new pair of glasses. If so, use your pre-tax rands that you elected to put into your FSA account, and let the government subsidize some of the purchase cost.

9. Review your homeowners insurance. It may also be a good time to review home and auto insurance to see if the coverage you have makes sense. Make sure the amount of replacement value on your home includes any recent increase in value. Also look at changing your deductibles as a way to possibly save some money.

10. Consider what life changing events you may face in the new year. For example, if your employer is struggling or planning job cuts, or if you want to change jobs, do you have enough liquidity on hand while you look for a new position? If you are buying a new home, are there steps you can take now to improve your credit rating? Or, if you have unexpected medical expenses how will you meet what is potentially a high deductible in your health insurance policy?

The financial planning process is continual and never ending. Reviewing year-to-date progress and anticipating future needs can lead to better results. So use this year-end period to assess your current situation and identify future planning opportunities.

“The private sector is SA’s only hope of pulling ourselves out of the ditch.”

South Africa is in crisis, and the private sector is the only sector that can change this. This is according to Dr Iraj Abedian, professor of economics, former chief economist of Standard Bank and CEO of Pan African Investment and Research Services speaking at an event co-sponsored by The Finance Team on Thursday 5 October 2017, he described South Africa having “an oblivious government with an economy on the brink.”

South Africa faces a global climate of uncertainty and nervousness. Gross fixed capital formation was in negative territory in four out of the past six quarters. The rand has weakened recently, despite a temporary uptick. According to a recent report from the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, business confidence is the lowest it has been in 32 years. Rising public debt now constitutes the biggest risk within the economy.

With all of these factors combined, if our GDP grows more than 0.5% this year “it will be almost miraculous,” said Abedian.

In his opinion, South Africa’s biggest threat is not the economic climate but the state capture that is permeating so much of our government and the private sector.

“Believe it or not, from a purely economic point of view, South Africa is not in a bad space,” said Abedian. “The structure of the economy is not vulnerable … it’s just got a rotten government and a whole lot of bad businesses. The economy is suffering under our people.”

The so-called “Gupta Leaks”, a recent spate of revelations alleging sinister and corrupt relations between political leaders and business owners have contributed to a huge loss in confidence. The parallel factions that have arisen in the ANC have led to policy uncertainty, a key consideration for investors and rating agencies. A fierce, at times even violent battle for leadership is underway in the governing party, growing more and more heated as its December conference approaches. For the first time since democracy, the ANC is not the foregone winner of the next national elections, and international investors are skittish about the changes that could usher in.

Add to this the fact that South Africa has been downgraded to junk status by both Fitch and S&P rating agencies. If Moody’s — which currently has South Africa sitting at one notch above junk with a negative outlook – joins its peers in a ‘junk’ outlook on the country, it will have massive effects on the country’s cash reserves. Bondholders will be legally required to withdraw from South Africa within 6-12 months. New investors will likely come in, but at a worse rate and on less favourable terms.

“Investors and consumers have lost confidence,” said Abedian. “All businesses are in a very uncertain, very doubtful, volatile state of mind. At the moment … business [is] in a state of what, at best, maybe a holding pattern. But that’s not the way to grow an economy.”

So how do we steer the country – and the economy – in a new direction? By leveraging our strongest asset, said Abedian.

“From a global perspective the comparative advantage of South Africa is not its government, not its resources; it’s the strength of its private sector.”

The private sector and its investment in the South African economy “is the only hope that we have of pulling ourselves out of the ditch we are in,” he said.

But this means clearing out the rot, so to speak. It starts with business holding itself to a higher level of accountability – as investors, drivers of growth and purveyors of ethical norms. It means becoming corporate activists, said Abedian, who recently resigned from the board of Munich Re because of the company’s continued engagement with audit firm KPMG after they were implicated in the Gupta Leaks.

The private sector “has to stop being sheepish. It has to be a real ethical social stakeholder.”

With all the twists, shifts and turns the economy has taken this year, it certainly hasn’t been easy-going for cash-strapped South Africans. Now that we’ve kissed the winter blues goodbye, it’s time to welcome the warmer season with open arms and there’s no better way to do it than with a spring clean… of your finances!

“Take this opportunity to get organised. The more organised you are, the more in control you are. You want to be in control of your finances – not the other way around,” says John Manyike, head of Financial Education at Old Mutual.

While it sounds easy in theory, in practice there are often unexpected curveballs that can throw even the most prudent of budgeters off the straight and narrow.

“Changes in both the economy and your personal life affect your budget, which is why it should be revisited on a regular basis,” says Budget Insurance’s Susan Steward.

In September, petrol prices are expected to rise by 59 cents a litre and diesel by 56 cents a litre. Electricity tariffs are expected to increase by more than 20%. And as August stats indicate, South African consumers remain under tremendous pressure to clear debt.

Preliminary statistics from Stats SA reveal that there have been 48 169 civil summonses issued for debt in June, valued at more than R350 million.

Here are a few guidelines from the experts on how to balance our budgets between September’s petrol hikes and increasing consumer debt and living costs.

1.First things first: get rid of debt

Make sure to pay off the most expensive debt first. “This is the debt that carries the highest interest rate and is costing you the most. For example, if you have a bond at a 10% interest rate and a personal loan at a 20% interest rate, consider paying off the loan first,” says Manyike.

Winter shopping splurges on credit may have accumulated, but if you received an annual increase in July, you may have a little more in your bank account and – as much as it can be tough – use it smartly by paying off outstanding debt, Steward advises, or strategise a smart budget plan to make the necessary payments.

2. Cut costs

This isn’t about scrutinising every cent you spend but rather establishing spending patterns to identify possible areas for saving. A good way to do this is to look at your monthly bank statement and see where most of money is going. You may be surprised at just how much you’re spending in certain areas and how by making small changes you could keep your spending in check.

3. Less is more

Examine your monthly budget and if your expenses exceed your income, cut out things you can do without. Just like cleaning out your closet or selling old equipment that is taking up unnecessary space, try to eliminate all expenses and purchases that are not essential. Be very clear on the difference between needs and wants.

4. Remember your saving goals

If you didn’t stick to your New Year’s resolution to save more money this year, it’s not too late to start now. Make a plan to set up a monthly debit order to an investment account or open a tax-free savings account, increase your pension fund contribution and request the 13th cheque option from your employer, if available to you.

5. Save for the unexpected

The amount you save towards an emergency fund depends on your personal circumstances. Ideally an emergency fund should cover three to six months’ living expenses, says Steward, adding that while this might seem like an insurmountable amount to save, just by putting aside R250 a week, for example, you have yourself R1 000 at the end of each month.

“If you don’t have savings, you aren’t getting ready for the day when you must pay out more money than you have. This day can come in the form of an unexpected medical bill, or family emergency, and it is at times like these that your savings can save you,” Manyike points out.

6. Track your spending

Try establish where unnecessary spending goes and how you can reduce it by making small changes to save big. Keep track of expenses in your statements and find a pattern to re-strategise saving methods.

7. Outdated fees must be phased out

You could be paying subscription fees for magazines you don’t read, a gym you don’t go to or paying for a bank account you no longer use. End subscriptions and use the money in more efficient places.

8. Payments that don’t reap rewards

Always read the fine print or terms and conditions when it comes to gaining loyalty points from reward programmes. Falling for a quick programme can have you overspending for smaller returns. Sometimes it’s just not worth it.

9. Know the money lingo

Research, read and seek advice on the best methods to save your money and make it go further for longer. Understanding investments, pension funds and the best account to save and spend your rand can certainly take you a long way.